Apparatus for controlling movement of cars upon inclines.



PATENTED AUG. 25, 1903.

W. A SNYDER. LING'MOVEMENT OP CARS UPON INGLINES.

APPARATUS FOR CONTROL APPLICATION FILED MAB..16, 1903.

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A TTOHNE rv (AI/3P UNITED STATES Patented August 25, 1903,

WVILLIAM A. SNYDER, OF SEATTLE, WASHINGTON.

APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLlNG MOVEMENT 0F CARS UPON INCLINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 737,513, dated August25, 1903. Application filed March 16, 1903. Serial No. 147,997. (Nomodel.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM A. SNYDER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Seattle, in the county of King and State of Vashington, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus forControlling the Movement of Cars Upon Inclines, of which the followingis a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanyingdrawings.

This invention relates to traction-railway cars.

The invention is applicable to cars which travel upon tracks and whichare driven by motors of usual or special construction which may becarried upon the car-body or attached to the truck and mayinterchangeably be used in transmitting motion from a primary orsupplemental driving-motor to propel the car by the tractive force ofthe usual carwheels against the track-rails or it may be used to operatea toothed wheel which positively engages a corresponding rail or rack,whereby it provides means to ascend or descend very steep grades 01'inclines. These features make the invention especially valuable for useon electric cars operating in cities where the variations of loadscarried are considerable and where the streets traveled upon are ofdifferent grades.

It has heretofore been found necessary under the above-mentionedconditions to install upon each car a plurality of motors at greatinitial cost and of an aggregate voltage far in excess of the ordinarydemands of traffic or by the use of cablesoperated from a powerhouse orby counterweights, and of these methods the cable system is the only onewhich is capable of use on the steeper grades, and when used inconnection with an electric car is found to be extremely disadvantageousboth from a financial aspect and from incommoding the public due to theloss of time consumed in coupling or disconnecting the cars with thecable at the tops and bottoms of the various hills.

The invention consists in the various novel features of construction andthe arrangement and combinations thereof, as will be hereinafter fullydescribed, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and finally pointedout in the claims,

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of my invention,shown partly in section, applied to a car-truck axle. 2 is an endelevation of the same, taken in the direction of the arrows y of. Figs.1 and 3. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section on line a: 00 of the otherviews.

Referring to the said drawings, 2 designates ,a car-wheel axle; 3, thesupporting or traction wheels mounted thereon; 4, track-rails, and5 amotor of any suitable design, which is connected to the aforesaid axlesand to the truckbody 6 by suitable framework, such as 7. Fixedly mountedupon the arm ature-shaft of the motor is a toothed pinion 8, whichmeshes with a gear-wheel 9, integrally connected by a sleeve 10 with atoothed gear 12. This lastnamed gear meshes with the teeth'13 of a rack13, rigidly secured to the road-bed as, for instance,bytransversely-arranged bridgepieces 14, secured by both extremities tothe track-rails and in termediately to a longitudinal timber 15. tionedabove the plane of and mid-distant between the track-rails. The sleeve10 is normally loose upon the axle, but is adapted to be clutchedsecurely thereto by a suitable clutch mechanism, as, preferably, by aconewheel 16, splined to the axle, making engagement in acorrespondingly-shaped recess 17 in the end of the sleeve. Thecone-wl1eel is shifted longitudinally of the axle into or out ofoperative engagement with the said sleeve by means of suitablecontrolling devices, such as a lever within reach of the motorman,connected by reach-rods 18, the bell-crank lever 19, fulcrumed at 19 andprovided with a bifurcated end 20 to straddle the cone-wheel and havinginternally-projecting studs 21, which engage with an annular groove 16of the said cone-wheel. 22 and 22 are respectively collars secured tothe shaft to prevent the longitudinal displacement of the sleeve and tolimit the movement of the said conewheel relatively of the axle. Annulardrumflanges 24 are provided upon the gear-wheels 9 and 12, adapted to befrictionally engaged by brake-bands 25, which are preferably lined I 00with a plurality of blocks 25, made of fibrous or other suitablematerial. The extremities of the said bands are provided with loops 26for making connection with pins 27, passed The rack is preferably posi-75 through lever-arms 27 of a vibratory shaft 28. This shaft is journaled in suitable hangers or supports, such as 29, secured to thetruck. The said shaft, and consequently the brake mechanism described,is operated by devices upon the car-platformsthrough the medium ofreach-rods 30, connected to an arm 31 of the shaft.

Where the invention is used with cars designed for traveling overapproximately fiat surfaces and an occasional incline or steep ascent,the rack and its engaging mechanism is only intended for use on thelatter2'. 6., the hills-and with such intermittent service provision ismade whereby the motor actuating the rack-gear is cut out to prevent therotary parts, both of the motor and its connections, being dangerouslyaccelerated When the rack-gear becomes disengaged when carried beyondthe terminals of the rack thereat. Any suitable means may be utilizedfor this purpose, such as making the said rack-rail the negative conduitfor the electric operating-current and having a wiper, such as a wheel32, rotatably secured in a verticallymovable arm 33, which makes orbreaks the electric circuit according to its being forced into contactwith spring socket-pieces 34: of a binding-post 35 when the said wheelmounts upon the rack or is withdrawn therefrom as the wheel travelsbeyond and is not borne by the rack.

The operation of the invention is as follows: In traveling over evensurfaces the sleeve carrying the driven and the rack-gear wheels wouldbe "coupled by the aforedescribed clutch 'to the axle, and consequentlywhen power is applied through the motor the car is propelled by thetractive force of the car-wheels upon the rails unless, of course, themotor herein described were used solely as an auxiliary to a maindriving-motor, when it would then be entirely out out until required inascending grades or where the main motor was disabled by reason oftheburning out of its brushes or other causes. In going up ascents thesaid gear-sleeve is uncoupled from its axle and the power is transmitteddirectly to the rack, when the car-wheels would act solely ascar-supporting members, and in descending grades the sleeve would stillbe uncoupled from its shaft and the rack-gear would continuously engagethe rack and insure a positive hold thereon as the rack-gear rotated.Oftentimes, however, the momentum of the car would be so great that thesupplemental means, such as the brake -band aforedescribed, would beutilized to reduce the stress claim as new, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, is-

1. In apparatus of the class described, the combination with acar-Wheelaxle, a toothed rail fixedly secured to the track-bed, and a motorprovided with a toothed pinion upon its armature-shaft; of gearingloosely mounted upon the said axle and meshing respectively. with thesaid pinion and with the toothed rail and means to rigidly couple thegearing to the axle.

2. In apparatus of the class described, the combination with thewheel-axle, a toothed rail fixedly secured to the track-bed and a motorhaving a toothed pinion upon its armature-shaft; of a toothed wheelengaging with the said pinion and integrally connected with a toothedwheel adapted to engage with the said rail, the said toothed wheelsbeing mounted normally loose upon the said axle.

3. In apparatus of the class described, the combination with a toothedrail fixedly connected to a track-bed, a wheel-axle, and a motorprovided with a toothed pinion upon the armature-shaft; of atoothedwheel mounted normally loose upon the axle meshing with the said pinionand integrally connected with another toothed wheel adapted to mesh withthe said rack, the last-named toothed wheel, a clutch member splined tothe said axle and adapted to engage with the said toothed wheels wherebythe latter are coupled to the axle, and means to move the said clutchmember into and out of engagement with the said toothed wheels.

4. In apparatus of the class described, the combination with a rackfixedly secured to a track-bed, a wheel-axle, a toothed wheel mountedupon the said axle and adapted to engage with the said rack, and meansto rotate said toothed wheel independently of or integrally with saidwheel; of a brake device comprising annular drum-flange integral of saidtooth-wheel, a band extending about the periphery of the drum-flange,and means to tighten the said band into operative engagement with thesaid drum-flange.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

IV. A. SNYDER.

Witnesses:

PIERRE BARNES, EDMUND BoWDEN.

